can my childs image be used without permission?

[Tim]

Laws vary from country to country, but in the U.S. portfolios are considered editorial work, and therefore permission is not needed from anyone in the photos. Facebook pages, websites, and printed books all fall under the protection of editorial use, and no permission is required from people in the photos regardless of age.

There are different rules for advertising, specifically endorsements. For example, if the photographer were to run an ad on Facebook or in a magazine, they would need permission from any recognizable person in the photo.


The photographer absolutely has the right to enter images of people into photo competitions without permission from the people in the photos. If the contest organizers plan on using the photo for any type of advertising purpose, they would need permission from recognizable individuals in the photos. Most competitions do not require copyright transfer of the images. The contests where the image becomes the organizer's property are usually limited to physical copies of the images, and the the copyright of the image itself.


Edit:
As the other person said, you can try contacting a lawyer, and they will basically repeat when I am saying and tell you that the law is on the photographer's side. You can try to threaten the photographer with a lawsuit barring him from using the photos. However, if it goes to court the photographer will win. His constitutional right to free expression is protected by the 1st Amendment. The constitution does not include any right to "privacy," from private citizens.

It is irrelevant where the photos were taken, as long as your child didn't have a "reasonable expectation of privacy," which would not exist at a wedding, unless the photos were taken in a bathroom, which I am guessing is not the case.